After Yoon Bom screamed, she covered her flushed face with both hands.

That was because Seo Kangrim was in the middle of casually stripping off his shirt.

【Kangrim, why are you suddenly taking off your clothes?】

【Yeah, calm down!】

【But man, he’s really bulked up, hasn’t he?】

Just as the gods noted, Seo Kangrim’s body had gained considerably more muscle compared to the early days.

He had trained extensively in his past life as well, but his body was far more solid now than after years of training back then.

Yoon Gyeoul also looked at Seo Kangrim with admiration and spoke up.

“Wow, Master. Your body is amazing. Can I touch it just once?”

“……No.”

“But why are you suddenly taking off your clothes?”

“I need to go into the water to find the snake.”

Seo Kangrim said as he smoothed down his disheveled hair.

At those words, Yoon Gyeoul looked a bit puzzled.

“Don’t snakes usually live in the dirt?”

“Normally, yes. But snakes that are undergoing spiritual training would be in the water.”

The fundamental attribute of dragons is water.

The fact that the Dragon King resides in the Dragon Palace at the bottom of the sea was proof enough of that.

Therefore, snakes that dreamed of becoming dragons primarily trained in the water for a thousand years.

Though they did occasionally come ashore to hunt for prey.

Yoon Bom, still covering her face with her hands, spoke with a sense of wonder.

“Wow, Master, how do you know all that?”

“I read it in a web novel. Dokgo Jun probably knows too.”

【Wow, web novels are actually this educational!】

【I should read one too.】

【Now I’m curious what kind of web novels Dokgo Jun reads.】

After casually selling out Dokgo Jun, Seo Kangrim took off his shoes and lightly stretched his body.

He glanced at Rini and spoke.

“Rini. You can follow me down too, right?”

“Ung!”

Rini nodded energetically and began warming up alongside Seo Kangrim.

Yoon Bom still looked worried.

“Master, will you be alright on your own? Should we come with you?”

“Stay here. I’ll be back soon.”

With that, Seo Kangrim took a deep breath.

The water was still a bit cold this time of year, but he dove in without hesitation.

-Pungdeong!

Seo Kangrim vanished beneath the surface in an instant.

As the spray struck his face, he narrowed his eyes and surveyed his surroundings.

‘There’s more down here than I expected.’

He hadn’t noticed from above, but tree roots spread chaotically beneath the water’s surface.

Between them, fish with shimmering scales swam through the crystal-clear water.

It was a scene that would have felt magical to an ordinary person, but Seo Kangrim had no time to be enchanted by the view.

[Movement speed reduced by 30% due to the effects of ‘Water Overcomes Fire’!]

[Defense reduced by 20% due to the effects of ‘Water Overcomes Fire’!]

[Breath-holding time reduced by 20% due to the effects of ‘Water Overcomes Fire’!]

The moment he entered the water, he felt a suffocating sensation, as if countless ghosts were dragging him down.

The penalty notifications rang painfully in his ears, but Seo Kangrim remained calm.

‘Good thing I stole that fate last time.’

[Five Elements attribute changes to ‘Water’!]

[The penalty from ‘Water Overcomes Fire’ is lifted!]

[Breath-holding time increases by 20% with the ‘Water’ attribute bonus!]

The moment he switched attributes, he could feel his body become significantly lighter.

The gods, unaware of what had just happened, were busy chattering among themselves.

【By the way, isn’t Seo Kangrim’s Five Elements attribute Fire? He must be really struggling right now.】

【Why did he stupidly go into the water? He should’ve just searched on land.】

【He was showing off about reading it in a web novel and all.】

【This is the danger of web novels.】

Seo Kangrim scoffed at them inwardly.

They called themselves gods, yet they couldn’t even see what a human had done.

He wondered what they would say when they saw what was about to unfold.

‘Rini is…… good. It’s adapted well.’

Rini looked completely at ease in the water.

It strolled through the water and breathed as comfortably as if this were dry land.

[Special Ability ‘Water Catching’ activates!]

As ‘Water Catching’ activated, a blue light flowed from Rini’s body, illuminating the surroundings.

Seo Kangrim slowly approached Rini.

Then, the blue light began to spread toward him as well.

[‘Seo Kangrim’ receives the effects of ‘Water Catching’!]

[Movement and breathing underwater become unrestricted!]

His body felt even lighter than on land—perhaps lighter still.

When he breathed in, crisp, refreshing air filled his lungs.

Seeing Seo Kangrim’s body enveloped in blue light, the gods grew bewildered.

【What? Why did Seo Kangrim’s expression suddenly relax?】

【Re-laxed.】

【Looks like the kirin did something?】

【Kya— as expected of a Spirit Beast.】

【All the ones who called Seo Kangrim stupid earlier disappeared, right?】

Watching the gods’ reactions was entertaining, but Seo Kangrim soon ignored them.

He had more pressing matters to attend to.

‘Now then, I just need to find it.’

Looking around, he could see countless fish swimming leisurely about.

Among them were some rather fierce-looking demon beasts, but they flinched and fled the moment they spotted Rini.

‘They must have instinctively sensed the difference in power.’

Of course, Rini had no reason to attack and kill those demon beasts.

However, the instinctive awareness of the gap in their strength was an undeniable sensation.

Thanks to traveling with Rini, the search became considerably easier in many ways.

Seo Kangrim and Rini began descending deeper into the water.

As they cut through the dark currents.

A snake slithered past through the aquatic plants.

【Ah! There’s a snake over there!】

【Hey hey hey, there it is! Seo Kangrim, hurry and catch it!】

The gods had also spotted the snake and were getting excited.

However, Seo Kangrim ignored their words and began swimming in a different direction.

Meanwhile, the snake, startled by the kirin’s light, hastily hid itself.

【Huh? Did he not see it? Or can he not hear us?】

【Maybe he doesn’t realize it’s a snake?】

【Hey, Seo Kangrim! Not there! The other way!】

【Hey hey hey, not that way!】

The gods’ words were coming through perfectly clear, of course.

But that was not the snake Seo Kangrim was looking for.

He turned his back to the snake and headed toward even darker, deeper waters.

As the surroundings grew darker, the blue light surrounding Seo Kangrim and Rini became more distinct.

They had reached a depth where sunlight barely penetrated.

Amidst the undulating dark waters, a shadow swiftly vanished into the darkness.

The moment he caught sight of a body covered in cyan-green scales, Seo Kangrim’s eyes flashed sharply.

‘There it is.’

Though the surroundings were dark, thanks to ‘Senses,’ he could pursue the shadow’s trail.

Pushing through the strong current, Seo Kangrim swiftly chased after the shadow’s owner.

Then, at one point, the shadow came to an abrupt halt.

‘It’s noticed me.’

From within the darkness, a pair of eyes sharpened their gaze, fixed on Seo Kangrim.

It was too large to be called a snake, yet too small to be called a dragon.

Its facial features were also distinct from those of a snake.

It looked like a small dragon.

‘Given its considerable size…… it must be an imugi that’s lived close to a thousand years.’

A snake that trains for a long time becomes an imugi, and an imugi that lives for a thousand years becomes a dragon.

The older it gets, the closer it grows to a dragon, and the stronger it becomes.

As evidence, the imugi radiated an overwhelming presence closer to that of a demon beast than a mere snake.

-Shiiiik……!

The imugi seemed to regard Seo Kangrim as an enemy, opening its jaws wide and emitting a threatening sound.

Its fangs looked ready to sink straight into Seo Kangrim’s neck.

Seeing this, the gods spoke urgently.

【Hey, that’s an imugi, isn’t it?】

【Wait, why did he go to catch a snake and end up fighting an imugi?】

【Kangrim, you can’t beat that thing. It may not be a full dragon yet, but it’s stronger than your average demon beast!】

Just as they said, the opponent was a formidable one.

Even with Rini’s assistance, the enemy was an imugi that lived in the water.

In a head-on confrontation, the odds of losing were higher than winning—but even so, Seo Kangrim showed no sign of backing down.

‘I’m not confident I can win. But there’s no need to win.’

He slowly untied the ‘Token of Friendship’ fastened at his waist.

And at the same moment, Seo Kangrim vanished in a burst of spray.

-Shiik?

The imugi appeared bewildered as Seo Kangrim suddenly disappeared from its sight.

Rini also looked around in confusion when it could no longer see Seo Kangrim.

But neither could find him.

[Special Ability ‘Hidden One’ activates!]

The activation condition for ‘Hidden One’ was holding one’s breath.

With the current ‘Water’ attribute bonus, his breath-holding time had increased by 20% on top of that.

Seo Kangrim held his breath with ease and maneuvered behind the imugi.

-Grrrk……!

However, the moment Seo Kangrim moved, the imugi swiftly twisted its body.

It had detected the change in the water’s flow.

-Kwaaaa……!

The imugi’s jaws gaped open, and a vortex began swirling within.

It was a Water Bullet.

The attack was aimed precisely at Seo Kangrim’s body.

【He’s been spotted! He’s been spotted!】

【Aaaagh, Seo Kangrim’s going to die!】

【Can he block that?】

Seo Kangrim had no weapon to block a Water Bullet.

Moreover, even with free movement underwater, he couldn’t move faster than the projectile.

Seo Kangrim twisted his body upon detecting the attack, but the Water Bullet did not stop.

-Kwang!

The Water Bullet was fired at Seo Kangrim like a cannonball.

A direct hit to the torso would mean certain death.

At that moment, Rini urgently activated its ability.

[Special Ability ‘Water Catching’ activates!]

Another vortex rapidly began forming in front of Seo Kangrim.

The Water Bullet struck the center of the vortex dead-on.

Then, the projectile was caught in the vortex’s current and scattered into fragments.

-Shiiiik!

With the interloper interfering, the imugi lunged at Rini as if leaping through the water.

Its plan was to kill Rini first, then deal with Seo Kangrim.

But that was the imugi’s critical mistake.

There was no way Seo Kangrim would let that opening slip by.

-Grrrl?

The imugi sensed something amiss and looked down at its own body.

The Token of Friendship was already fastened around the imugi’s neck.

Seo Kangrim’s figure materialized the moment he exhaled.

[Item ‘Token of Friendship’ has been used!]

As the ‘Token of Friendship’ was used, light enveloped the imugi’s body like a white membrane.

The imugi thrashed about, trying to shake Seo Kangrim off, but the ‘Token of Friendship’ had already taken effect.

A brilliant light began radiating from the imugi’s body.

[The imugi attempts to resist the ‘Token of Friendship’!]

[The imugi’s resistance has failed!]

[The imugi’s hostility has subsided!]

The imugi tried to break free from the compulsion, but it was futile.

Eventually, the imugi’s movements grew docile.

The imugi looked at Seo Kangrim with eyes tinged with mild irritation.

[‘Imugi’ now obeys ‘Seo Kangrim’!]